K2 Pon2oon Skis 2013

With the same Powder Rocker™ that made the original Pon2oon so playful and agile in deep snow, the K2 Pon2oon Skis have been refined with new features that make them more stable for going 60 mph in bottomless blower or on hardpack. This all made possible by a stiffer tail that provides better landing gear and added breaking power. The tail remains a pintail shape, only less drastic, and the redesigned powder tip reduces swing weight and makes this floater that much more maneuverable. A percentage of sales go to the McConkey family, in support of those who lost the man that started it all.

Shape

Powder Rocker™ - Designed for deep snow with the most elevated tip and longest measurement of rocker, offering skiers a “surfy” feel with enhanced soft-snow performance. The camber region still exists to ensure edge hold in firmer conditions.

Progressive Sidecut - A combination of two different radii that enhances the versatility of wider-waist skis. This guarantees improved turn initiation and hard-snow performance.

Powder Tip - Pulls the widest point of the tip further down the ski, which retains float in soft snow, and also minimizes deflection in adverse snow conditions.

Construction

Fir/Aspen Core - Solid and dense woods known for their inherent strength and durability.

Triaxial Braiding - Consists of braiding fiberglass around the wood core to provide torsional rigidity for added control, making the ski incredibly energetic and responsive.

Cap Construction - A durable, lightweight, and softer construction.

Additional Features

Tip/Tail Hardware - Vastly increases the skis’ utility: By allowing you to build a rescue sled or construct various ski anchors, you can carry less weight while increasing your safety margin. These holes also function as attachment points for K2 Pre-Cut Skins and come with a removable plug.

Skin Clip Arc - The tails are designed with a concave notch to ensure that the skin clip, regardless of size or skin brand, stays securely centered on the tail.

Binding Compatibility

We recommend a brake width that is equal to the ski waist width and at most 15 mm wider.

Specs

Terrain:Alpine Touring, Powder

Alpine Touring

Also known as backcountry skis, alpine touring (AT) skis are designed for going uphill as well as downhill. These skis are typically light for their width and many feature fittings that accept climbing skins. AT skis vary in width and weight, with the wider heavier versions usually used for winter/deep snow touring and the skinnier, lighter skis usually used for spring/summer/long distance touring.

Powder

These skis are for the deep days. If you like to find powder stashes at your local resort, go on backcountry missions for the freshest of fresh or heli ski trips to BC, powder skis are what you need to stay afloat. Skis in the powder category are wide and most often have some form of rocker or early rise plus a relatively soft flex. Many powder skis today are versatile enough to handle mixed conditions and harder snow.

Ability Level:Advanced-Expert

Advanced-Expert

Whether you charge the steepest lines, carve with race-like precision, hit the biggest jumps or halfpipes; advanced to expert level skis/snowboards are for the more aggressive rider. You will often find the addition of layers of metal, carbon, bamboo, or other stringers in these. These features work to make a stiffer ski/snowboard with more power and rebound.

Rocker Type:Rocker/Camber/Rocker

Rocker/Camber/Rocker

Rocker/Camber/Rocker skis have the playfulness and float of a rockered ski as will as the added edge hold of a cambered ski. The contact points on skis with this profile are closer towards the middle of the ski than a fully cambered ski, but still not underfoot. The cambered midsection provides a longer effective edge on hardpack, increasing edge hold and stability, while the rockered tip and tail provide floatation in deeper snow and allow the ski to initiate and release from turns easier.

Turning Radius:Long

Long

> 22 m radius is best for powder and big-mountain.

Core/Laminates:Wood

Tail Type:Partial Twin Tip

Partial Twin Tip

Partial twin tip skis have a tail that is turned up, but not as much as the tip. This gives you the ability to ski backwards and back out of tight spaces, but these skis are mainly designed to ski forward.

The Pon2oon is a winner. It surfs. It smears. It plays. It charges. As a big fan of the original Pontoon design, I was prepared to dislike the Pon2oon. I could not imagine how this year's changes could do anything but result in mediocrity. I was utterly wrong. I skied two late afternoon spring laps at Stevens Pass on the 179 cm Pon2oon. During those two laps I alternated between packed/cut-up groomers, chundered off-piste spring snow laden with grapefruit sized "snowballs", and a few modest untouched patches of nice creamy fresh Cascade snow. In the fresh soft snow, it was surfy and smeary. In chunky cutup, it cruised through - smoothly. For a ski of its size, it went up on edge on hard packed groomers with surprising ease and confidence - big carved turns were no hassle at all. While perhaps a shade less nimble in untracked snow than the original Pontoon, the Pon2oon seems to have retained most of the original's surfy soft snow handling while shedding virtually all of the original's weaknesses on cutup or hard snow. This is a ski you can take out on a great day, smile your way through the untracked, and not worry about those less than perfect patches or having to go back to the car to swap skis when the good stuff starts getting pounded out. Simply put, the Pon2oon is a serious standout ski. With respect to sizing, the 179 strikes me as the "go to" size for this ski (much as the 179 was for the original). Unless you are going to be doing big/fast lines you probably do not need the bigger size. The 179 was rock solid for me. And still very nimble. Since it is already so stable and sure footed, I would not give up any of the handling of the 179 for a bigger ski without good reason. Depending on the make/model, I ski sizes ranging from about 180 to 195, so I am not averse to longer skis when the design and/or conditions call for it. Me: 55 years old. A bit over 200 pounds. Middle of the road level skier. I get out about 70 days a year & favor off-piste skiing when conditions are reasonable. I'm a big fan of modern rockered designs.

I am a strong 47 year old Utah skier, volunteer patroller. My main boards are the Coombas before they had rocker. I have been sceptical about rocker, but the new pontoon changed my mind. You can't sink the tips which allows you to charge in a way that is hard to describe until you actually ride these in deep snow. I was smoking through crud after a 16 inch storm at speeds that would not be possible with anything else I have ever been on. Definitely a powder only board... As billed you can tolerate the groomers to get to the lift, but quickly loose edge hold at high speeds on hard snow. Game changer for powder days... I am 5' 8" and weigh 185... I have the 179s. I could have definately gone longer, but I am not unhappy with my choice. In really steep and deep trees I was skiing faster and with greater confidence than ever before... Big mountain open terrain I would go longer.

The new Pon2oon is sweet. Its stiffer and more streamlined. With less taper and less sidecut it is very stable bombing through heavy snow. It is very smooth turning and controllable. I found it to make nice turns on the groomers too as long as you're not afraid to throw it around.

Wow, what a fun ski! Zip through tight trees, shmear turns in deep pow at high speed, blast over crud, nail wind lips full-on, send it huge and stick the landing every time. On hard snow they're passable enough to get you to the lift line, but these are definitely powder day skis. Make sure to buy extra wax because these boards have a LOT of surface area.